Sidge turns eight

Elijah "Sidge" is eight. 

Eight!

Not sure how that happened, but as he celebrates his eighth birthday, here are some of these things currently on the top of Sidge's priority list:

• Animals! He loves all animals but especially bald eagles. (The one in the picture above was a gift from my Dad and Mom. He LOVES it! It has very "real feeling" feet and beak.)
• His dogs: Scrubs and Ritter top his list but Arabelle is a close third.
• Stuffed animals. (What is it with kids and stuffed animals)?
• Legos.
• How things work. (Gears, parts, wheels, etc.)
• Inventions (constantly thinking about what he can invent). (Today he made a cell phone holder out of Legos.) 
• AFV (America's Funnies Videos old episodes.)
• The farm. 

Sidge loves to see other people have joy. He tears up for happy reasons frequently. He genuinely understands human emotions and feels them with people. He celebrates successes and failure whole-heartedly. 

We worry that sometimes he can feel a little lost with a brother excelling in piano and a sister who adores ballet. But many of Sidge's talents remain things that a young child can't understand. His talent is his brain. He has a brain just like his Daddy, and it is full to the brim with knowledge already. He will have his own wonderful role to play in our world. And we can't wait to see what He does for the world.

In sticking with our family tradition, we are not having a birthday party. We are getting a hotel room for a night, swimming, and letting Sidge pick something he wants to do. He picked a fossil museum! No big surprise there. 

He currently says he'd like to be a veterinarian and a farmer! We really think he'll stick with one of those.

Sidge has a heart of GOLD. It is truly so incredibly loving and sweet, and you can't help but just fall in love with him. He is such an amazing kid. I think often about the fact that I never thought I could have a biological child, and what an amazing and incredible surprise his conception and birth were. 

I LOVE YOU SWEET BOY! Thanks for being my boy!